Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member on realizing that there is a problem, a problem the government realized many months ago when it set up a parliamentary committee to look into these very things.

Outside the Second Summit of the Americas, the Prime Minister indicated that he was going to make an official visit to Cuba. This is the first official visit since 1976 by a head of the Canadian government to a country that continues to be cut off from the rest of the Americas.

Will the Prime Minister tell the House what concrete proposals he intends to make to President Castro to make it possible for him to participate in the Summit of the Americas and to facilitate Cuba's reintegration into inter-American institutions?

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs was saying earlier, we have been in communication with the Government of Cuba for a good while now and have developed a program of co-operation in a number of areas.

As for the issue of human rights, we are working together toward the creation of the position of ombudsman in that country's national assembly. There are all sorts of programs under way that we will discuss.

We hope that there will be improvements in Cuba, which may help facilitate Cuba's return to the family of the Americas.

I wonder if the minister on earth day could tell the House whether he has had occasion to think twice about the wisdom of Canada's belonging to agreements like NAFTA or seeking to enter into agreements like the MAI or the FTAA which enable corporations to sue governments for pursuing environmental legislation like this government has with MMT.

When the minister goes to Paris next week will he be going to finally say he is listening to Canadians and he does not want Canada to be part of any MAI that has this provision in it?

Mr. Speaker, it would be appropriate on earth day if the NDP renounced its membership in the flat earth society. Certainly that would be a contribution.

Canada through her trade deals has been able to energize our economy and also speak to high standards in those trade deals. In Chile, Canada and the Prime Minister were at the forefront in the creation of a civil society committee so that we can build an exciting project in the Americas and build it with all the groups that represent our society. Canada is at the forefront of—

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

The minister is no doubt aware of the case of Sami Durgen, a Kurdish refugee whose case has been in the system for about a decade.

Mr. Durgen has been conducting a vigil in Toronto in an effort to get his landed status which was promised by the minister five years ago. I met with Mr. Durgen yesterday. He informed me that after 10 years of living in Canada he is still awaiting security clearance.

Would the minister please indicate how long this case can go on before Mr. Durgen gets some confirmation of his status in Canada?

Mr. Speaker, the media has been reporting infiltration by biker gangs into many areas of legitimate economic activity. They are alleged as well to control substantial drug trafficking networks and to perpetrate crimes of extreme violence.

Last year we passed strong anti-gang legislation which should help. What is the solicitor general doing to fight this kind of organized criminal activity?

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much the question from my colleague because organized crime is a serious problem in Canada.

We have passed the legislation necessary to fight it but we need to do more than that. We need to put together a national strategy that includes all law enforcement agencies. That is why on Friday I am bringing together 40 law enforcement agencies, the provinces and other criminal justice officials. We are going to put the strategy together to deal with this problem once and for all.

(House in committee to recognize Canada's 1998 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Games athletes)

My colleagues, today is a very special day for us because we are to recognize on the floor of the House our Olympians and Paralympians. I ask them all to come in. When they come on to the floor I will speak to them on your behalf and will explain how we will do it.

Olympians and Paralympians of Canada and my colleagues, this winter the eyes of the world were on Nagano. A record number of athletes came together to compete in Olympic and Paralympic games.

These games represent human achievement and international friendship. They are a time for nations to engage in friendly competition and for athletes to pursue their dreams of excellence.

The men and women who represented us at Nagano were Canada's best athletes. To take part in the competitions over there represents a remarkable success. Those of you who returned with medals are recognized as being the best of the world's best.

Some of you have best ever records to your credit.

Whether we were in St. John's, Vancouver or Whitehorse, you had us all on the edge of our chairs. Canadians do not usually make a lot of noise, but when you won those medals there were 30 million people here in Canada who were damn ecstatic and very noisy.

All Canadians shared in your victories. You have made us all very proud. You have captured our imagination and are now the heroes of a new generation of Canadians. You represent the very finest in sport. You are symbols of everything Canada has to offer the world.

We are not used to having visitors on the floor of this House, but this is a special day and we wanted to bend the rules a bit in order to pay tribute to all of you, to congratulate you and to thank you for the great honour you have brought to our country.

My colleagues, I will read out the names of our Olympians and Paralympians. I know it might be difficult, but I would ask you to please hold your applause until the end and not to run on to the floor when I am finished because you will have a chance to meet our athletes in room 253-D right after we are finished this afternoon.

As I call your names—and I know you are a little close together—just raise your hand so that we can get an idea of where you are.

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

This report which deals with the disturbing issue of international child abductions is the first report of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Development. The compelling personal and written accounts of victims clearly demonstrated the need for government action. While recognizing that there is no immediate solution to the elimination of child abductions, we as members of Parliament have undertaken to recommend measures that will help to minimize the successful abduction of a child to another country.

On behalf of the members of the subcommittee I would like to thank everyone who took the time to participate in this study, the parents, NGOs, departmental officials, attorneys and others.